‘Safety will be restored,’ Trump saying in convention finale

CLEVELAND (AP) — In an appeal to anxious voters, Hillary Clinton to Trump Clinton”>Donald Trump is pledging Thursday night that “safety will be restored” if he is elected president, using his Republican convention address to denounce Democrat Hillary Clinton as part of a political class causing the nation’s troubles.

“As long as we are led by politicians who will not put ‘America First,’ then we can be assured that other nations will not treat America with respect,” Trump says, according to excerpts released ahead of his address.

Trump’s speech on the closing night of the Republican convention marks his highest-profile opportunity to unite his fractured Republican Party and quiet Americans’ concerns about his preparedness for the White House.

Trump is promising “profound relief” and “simplified” taxes for the middle class,” an end to excessive regulation, and infrastructure projects that will create millions of jobs, according to the excerpts.

Trump takes the stage in Cleveland facing a daunting array of challenges, many of his own making. His nominating event has been consumed by a plagiarism charge, unusually harsh criticism of Clinton, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s dramatic refusal to endorse the GOP nominee from the convention stage.

Overseas U.S. allies as well as voters at home will be closely watching his address, which comes the day after his suggestion that he might not defend America’s NATO partners as president.

Trump’s wife, Melania, foreshadowed it all on opening night, noting, “It would not be a Trump contest without excitement and drama.”

His team hopes to close the convention on a more traditional note, with the businessman delivering a scripted speech …